Matthew Livelsberger, Las Vegas cybertruck bomber shot self in head moments before explosion outside Trump hotel in Elon Musk vehicle as FBI says no link found between Bourbon st terrorist, Shamsud Din Jabbar, as motive for Las Vegas explosion eludes authorities.
The person inside the Tesla Cybertruck that burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel is believed to have shot himself in the head before Wednesday morning’s explosion, officials said Thursday.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of Matthew Livelsberger, 37, who is now alleged to have set off the Tesla cyber truck explosion just on 8.40 am, local time.
Matthew Livelsberger, Las Vegas cybertruck bomber suicide: but does it make sense?
Matthew Livelsberger’s apparent suicide comes as the FBI on Thursday announced finding no definitive links between Livelsberger’s explosion blast and that of the Bourbon st terrorist, Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, who hours earlier (circa 3.15 am, local time) killed 15 revelers and injured dozens others after plowing his SUV vehicle into revelers amid New Years celebrations in New Orleans.
Jabbar was shot dead by police after alighting from his vehicle and firing at revelers.
That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Of intrigue was a black flag, described as being an ISIS denominated flag linked to the radical Muslim group on a pole at the back of the Jabbar’s SUV.
While the New Orleans suspect flew an ISIS flag and declared his alliance to the terrorist group, police so far have found no evidence that Livelsberger was connected to Islamic terrorism in any way.
Was Las Vegas cybertruck explosion related to Bourbon st attack?
The two back to back attacks led to concern that there had been an orchestrated attacks against the U.S. An assertion the FBI for now denies having found evidence against.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.
He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was ‘conducting law enforcement activity’ at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday’s explosion but provided no other details.
Link between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump explored
While the FBI denied any link between Livelsberger and Jabbar, both soldiers spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
The vehicles in both the New Orleans attack and the Trump Las Vegas hotel Tesla explosion were rented using the app Turo, officials have said.
Authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, Kevin McMahill, the elected sheriff of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, said Wednesday. He did not release the person’s ID, however.
Officers have also considered that Livelsberger may have purposefully chosen to use a car owned by Elon Musk to send a message – given the Tesla billionaire’s newfound friendship with President-elect Donald Trump.
‘It’s a Tesla truck, we know Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump and it’s the Trump hotel, so there’s obviously something to look at,’ Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a press conference.
Both Musk and Trump had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.
Ironically, the craftsmanship and sturdiness of the Tesla-Musk vehicle may have served to limit the bombing’s impact and contain fatalities to that of only the driver, Livelsberger.
To date, it continued to remain unclear what led to the highly skilled army man, Livelsberger, setting off the Tesla cyber truck along with seemingly taking his own life.
